Hearing aid switch

ABSTRACT

A hearing aid apparatus is provided having a case with a rotatably mounted battery compartment for holding a battery and having spring contacts for making electrical contacts with a battery held in the battery compartment. The battery compartment includes means for disengaging electrical contacts when the battery compartment is not fully closed thereby operating an onoff switch.

United States Patent Lamp 1 Feb. 8, 1972 [54] HEARING AID SWITCH 3,196,217 7/1965 Petrina ..200/l57 2,916,538 12/1959 Rose ..179/l07 m] lnvenm" Paul Lamp casselber'y 2,983,797 5/1961 Lybarger ..179/107 [73] Assignee: Electone, lnc., Winter Park, Orange County, pm FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 22 Filed; June 1, 1970 237,945 2/1969 U.S.S.R. ..200/l55 [211 PP 42,339 Primary Examiner-R. F. Staubly Assistant Examiner-George A. Montanye 52] us. 01. ..200/s2, 179/107 s Arwrrwyl)u9kw0rth & Hobby [58] Field of Search ..200/60, 153.11, 157, 52; ABSTRACT 179/107 A hearing aid apparatus is provided having a case with a rotatably mounted battery compartment for holding a battery [56] References cued and having spring contacts for making electrical contacts with UNITED STATES PATENTS a battery held in the battery compartment. The battery compartment includes means for disengaging electrical contacts 3,475,566 10/1969 when the battery compartment is not fully closed thereby 2,253,968 8/1941 operating an on-off switch. 2,852,633 9/1958 3,014,125 12/1961 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures fi I s 32 M M 'F.Z iL. \l

a 52 i2 h 35- 3 A HEARING AID swrrcn BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to hearing aids and especially to the battery compartment for hearing aids in which the battery compartment also acts as a switch whereby the hearing aid is always electrically disconnected when the battery compartment is not fully closed.

In the past, many types of hearing aids have been provided for various types of on-ofi' switches. Commonly, hearing aids have separate on-off switches and sometimes such switches are in combination with a volume control. These switches have proven completely satisfactory, but if accidentally left on, they allow the battery to run down and in many hearing aids a high-frequency oscillation is generated which irritates pets such as dogs, but which oscillation cannot be heard by the owner of the hearing aid. Consequently, in addition to running the battery down when the hearing aid is accidentally left turned on, household pets may be aggravated and become irritable and may even attack the hearing aid damaging an expensive and delicate electrical instrument.

In the past it has also been common to have various types of hearingaid battery compartments or holders in which small mercury batteries, or the like, may be inserted into the hearing aid or into the compartment in a manner that electrical contact may be made for providing the power source for the hearing aid. This is commonly done by small spring contacts such as may be made of spring steel so that when the battery is inserted the contacts will frictionally engage the battery providing an electrical connection between the power source and the hearing aid. It has also been suggested to combine battery holders and switch combinations in'various manners, such as an easily insertable and removable battery for turning the hearing aid on and off.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a hearing aid having a battery holder or compartment which is also an electrical switch providing for the complete disengagement of the electrical contacts between the power source and the electrical circuits of the hearing aid except when the battery holder is fully closed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide convenient storage for a battery while the battery is disconnected without the user having to take the battery out and risk losing it, and also to provide a battery compartment much easier to use for older people with arthritis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to hearing aids and especially to hearing aid switches and battery compartments in which the hearing aid has a case with a rotatably mounted battery compartment for inserting and holding a battery or other power source for the hearing aid. Spring contacts are provided for makingelectrical contact with a battery inserted in the battery compartment and the rotatable battery holder includes camming surfaces attached thereto for camming the spring contacts away from the battery when the battery holder is moved from a closed to an open position and allowing electrical contact to be made with the battery when the battery compartment is fully closed. The rotatable battery compartment may cam electrical contacts on either side of the battery or to either pole or may just operate on one contact and the cam may be an inclined arced surface increasing around the rotatable axes of the battery holder with the contacts passing through an arced slot in the side of the battery holder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from a study of the written description and the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a hearing aid in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the lower end of the hearing aid taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating a switch of the present invention in a different position;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the switch of the present hearing aid; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective of the switch contact means as seen in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a hearing aid in accordance with the present invention illustrated in connection with the ear of the user. The hearing aid is shown held behind an ear ll of a user 12, having a horn 13 extended around and into the ear, which horn is connected to the hearing aid by a fastener 14. Hearing aid 10 has a battery compartment 15, a volume control 16 and a switch 17 visible on the outside of the casing 18. The present invention is primarily directed towards the battery compartment 15 which, as will be explained in more detail, operates as a disconnect switch for the hearing aid 10.

Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 3, a portion of the hearing aid 10 can be seen having a casing 18 partially cut away to more clearly illustrate the battery compartment 15 which is generally cylindrical shaped and having knurled surface 20 around the periphery of compartment 15 to assist in engaging the compartment for rotation about an axis 21. The compartment 15 has an arced slot 22 in its side 23 extending around a portion of the side 23. Compartment 15 rotates on a smaller cylinder 24 attached to either side 23 for riding in an opening 25 in the case 18, and which is stepped at 26 for holding the battery compartment in a predetermined position. Battery compartment 15 extends through the casing 18 at 27 and may contain a battery in the center opening 28 which may be inserted and removed when the holder 15 is rotated to an open position aligned with the opening 27. The battery may be a mercury battery or similar-type battery and will have both sides 30 acting as poles for connecting to the hearing aid to provide a source of power. Spring contacts 31 are connected to the case 18 at 32 and 33 and would typically be made of a spring steel and biased towards the battery 28 and has contact ends 34 extending through the slots 22 of the holder 15. Thus the spring contacts 31 will make contact with the battery 28 from either side by passing through the slots 22 and will not interferc with the rotation of the case 15 because slot 22 extends sufficiently far around the side 23 of the casing 15 to avoid blocking the rotation of the compartment 15 in its operational mode.

While the spring contacts 31 have been illustrated as spring steel being biased toward the battery, it should of course be clear to those skilled in the art that other types of contact could be utilized, such as having a small coil-type spring located between the casing 18 and the spring contacts 31 biasing it towards the battery 28 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

A camming surface 35 arcs around the side 23 of the compartment l5 and is illustrated as being next to the arced slot 22 and as having an inclined surface arced around the axis of compartment 15 starting from the level with the surface of side 22 and gradually increasing to its highest point 36. This camming surface is located on the side of the slot 22 away from the axes 21 so that this inclined plane will make contact with the spring contact 21 when the battery compartment 15 is rotated; thus camming the contact and portion 34 away from the battery poles 30 to disengage the battery from the spring contacts 31 when the case 15 is rotated in one direction and to bring the contacts 34 in connection with the battery poles 30 when the battery compartment is rotated sufficiently clockwise, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Thus, the battery compartment acts as a switch connecting and disconnecting both contacts with the power source in accordance with the angle of rotation of the battery compartment. When the battery compartment is opened for inserting or removing a battery or even when it is partially opened, the circuit will be disengaged from the battery but will make contact when the battery compartment is fully closed. A small cylindrical peg 37 acts as a snap holder for holding the battery holder 15 when it is in its closed position.

Turning now to FIG. 4, the casing 18 can be seen having the spring contacts 31 connected at 32 and 33 and engaging battery holder 15 by members 24 being stepped at 26 and fitting into hollow cylinders 25 in a manner to allow battery holder 15 to rotate on member 24. The compartment 15 has sides 23 with slots 22 running in a generally annular direction around the axes of battery compartment 15 along with cam 35 being inclined from the side 23 around the annular groove 22. Spring contact 31 has a contact point 34 adapted to fit in a slot 22 for making contact with the battery 28 when the battery case isrotated into a fully closed position. In this Figure the battery case is rotated into a fully open position whereby the cam 35 is cammed to spring contact 31 away from the battery 28 so that the power source is disconnected from the rest of the hearing aid, while in FIGS. 2 and 3 the cam was illustrated with the battery case in a closed position and the contact 31 making contact with the battery 28.

FIG. shows a portion of the case 18 with the battery compartment removed and more clearly shows the cylinder 25 and the opening 27 in case 18. Spring contact 31 has a contact tip 34 and a base portion 38 connected to the case 18 by connectors 32 and 33. Base portion 38 acts as a conductor for conducting the power from the contact 34 through the spring contact 31 in base 38 and has an electrical connection 40 for connecting the power source to the electrical circuits of the hearing aid.

FIG. 7 shows the spring contact 31 having its contact point 34 base portion 38 with a pair of openings 41 and 42 with connectors 32 and 33 for holding the contact to the case 18. Spring contact 31 also has surfaces 43 for making contact with the cam of the battery compartment 15 of FIG. 6 which compartment has knurled surfaces along its periphery and an opening in its periphery 27. The slots 22 in camming surface 35 are clearly shown in this perspective view of FIG. 6 as is the peg 37 to hold the battery compartment in a closed position and the rotating axle member 24 being stepped at 26 for the battery compartment 15 to rotate on.

Other advantages are contemplated for the present hearing aid, such as advantageously providing storage for the battery while the battery is disconnected, without the user having to remove the battery and risk losing it and since the contacts contact the battery away from the center, contact will be made with a large number of points producing substantially less wear on the battery surfaces than with conventional bat tery compartments. Also, such a rotating battery compartment is easier for arthritic patients to use since it is easier to rotate a knurled surface than to open the conventional swing out compartment which requires finding the small latch to swing the compartment out with.

At this point it will be clear to those skilled in the art that a battery compartment for a hearing aid has been provided which also acts as a disconnect for the power source whenthe battery compartment is not fully closed. The switching features of this battery compartment are useful as an auxiliary switch or could be utilized as the main switch for the hearing aid, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Other variations are also contemplated as being within the scope of the invention, such as the switching portion being only on one side of the battery compartment rather than on both sides and in any event, this invention is not to be construed as limited to the particular forms disclosed herein since these are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

I claim:

1. A switch and battery compartment comprising in combination:

a. a housing;

b. a rotatably mounted battery compartment of generally cylindrical shape including a generally cylindrical wall portion and a pair of generally circular end portions attached to the ends formed by the cylindrical wall portion, said battery compartment being rotatably attached to said housing and adapted for holding a battery therein, and said compartment having an opening in said generally cylindrical wall portion for inserting and removing a battery when said compartment is rotated to a predetermined position;

c. a pair of electrical contacts connected to said housing;

(I. said battery compartment having an opening in each said end portion and said electrical contacts arranged to extend through each said opening in each said end portion; and

e. cam means attached to the end portions of said battery compartment and having angled surfaces for a portion of each electrical contact to ride on for camming said electrical contacts in one direction, when said compartment is rotated in one direction and for camming said electrical contacts in a second direction when said battery compartment is rotated in the other direction, and wherein said electrical contacts are biased against said angled surface.

2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the openings in said end portions of said battery compartment are arced slots.

3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which each said cam means angled surface is an arced inclined plane.

4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 3 in which said battery compartment has means for limiting the rotation of said battery compartment.

5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 4 in which said electrical contacts are spring steel spring contacts fixedly attached to said housing. 

1. A switch and battery compartment comprising in combination: a. a housing; b. a rotatably mounted battery compartment of generally cylindrical shape including a generally cylindrical wall portion and a pair of generally circular end portions attached to the ends formed by the cylindrical wall portion, said battery compartment being rotatably attached to said housing and adapted for holding a battery therein, and said compartment having an opening in said generally cylindrical wall portion for inserting and removing a battery when said compartment is rotated to a predetermined position; c. a pair of electrical contacts connected to said housing; d. said battery compartment having an opening in each said end portion and said electrical contacts arranged to extend through each said opening in each said end portion; and e. cam means attached to the end portions of said battery compartment and having angled surfaces for a portion of each electrical contact to ride on for camming said electrical contacts in one direction, when said compartment is rotated in one direction and for camming said electrical contacts in a second direction when said battery compartment is rotated in the other direction, and wherein said electrical contacts are biased against said angled surface.
 2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the openings in said end portions of said battery compartment are arced slots.
 3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which each said cam means angled surface is an arced inclined plane.
 4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 3 in which said battery compartment has means for limiting the rotation of said battery compartment.
 5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 4 in which said electrical contacts are spring steel spring contacts fixedly attached to said housing. 